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EconoGraphics

Feb 3, 2021

ANT Group IPO compromise shows that foreign investment in China will only go so far

By GeoEconomics Center

Last December, Chinese President Xi Jinping blocked ANT Group’s planned IPO and no one was quite sure what would come next. Then news broke this morning that ANT Group and Chinese regulators reached an agreement to restructure the fintech giant into a financial holding company. As a financial holding company, ANT must abide by a […]

China Financial Regulation

BelarusAlert

Feb 3, 2021

Belarus national reinvention leaves little room for Russia

By Brian Whitmore

Vladimir Putin's decision to prop up the Lukashenka dictatorship in Belarus has forced many Belarusians to rethink their attitudes towards Russia and fueled growing support for greater European integration.

Belarus Democratic Transitions

Event Recap

Feb 3, 2021

Event recap | Tech-enabled dis- and misinformation, social platforms, and geopolitics

By Sana Moazzam

A wide-ranging discussion exploring the human, business, and technological incentives that have driven the growth of mis- and dis-information globally, and what a weaponized information space means for the world, jointly hosted by the Atlantic Council's GeoTech Center and DFRLab.

Disinformation Internet

New Atlanticist

Feb 3, 2021

How the US can build on its success with AFRICOM

By James L. Jones, Jr.

AFRICOM has been a key component of US strategy—and promises to be more essential than ever as the United States recalibrates its international priorities. Africa’s total population will eclipse China’s in the relatively near future and its economic potential is without peer, all of which explains why now is the time to make AFRICOM even better.

Africa Defense Policy

MENASource

Feb 3, 2021

Preventing partition: The case against a diplomatic band-aid in Libya

By Will O'Brien

There are three primary arguments against partitioning Libya: the historical outcomes of partitioned countries, the potential for exacerbating the ongoing proxy war in Libya, and the risk of degrading international institutions.

Libya Middle East

Fast Thinking

Feb 2, 2021

FAST THINKING: What to do about Navalny

By Atlantic Council

On Tuesday a Moscow court sentenced Navalny to more than two and a half years in prison, just months after he was poisoned by a nerve agent at the suspected direction of the Kremlin. How should the United States and its allies respond?

Politics & Diplomacy Russia

EnergySource

Feb 2, 2021

Reconciling transatlantic differences over Nord Stream 2

By Daniel Fried, Richard L. Morningstar, Daniel D. Stein

From the time it was first proposed in 2011, the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has divided the United States and the project’s European supporters, principally Germany. Nord Stream 2 is not simply a US-Europe issue or a US-Germany issue, however. Many in Europe, including Central and Eastern European countries, the European Parliament, and those […]

Energy & Environment Europe & Eurasia

UkraineAlert

Feb 2, 2021

Zelenskyy’s Axios interview raises questions in Ukraine

By Solomiia Bobrovska

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's recent interview with US outlet Axios left many questioning the quality of his preparation and unsure about his views on the key events in modern Ukrainian history.

Media Politics & Diplomacy

EnergySource

Feb 2, 2021

Developing countries offer enormous market potential for long-duration energy storage

By Sandra Chavez

Achieving deep decarbonization requires energy storage that can store more power for longer durations. Lithium-ion batteries, thus far, have played a key role in supporting the integration of renewable energy resources into the electric grid. But as the share of variable renewable energy in power systems grows around the world, new energy technologies that can store electricity for longer durations at low cost are needed. Developing countries present enormous market opportunities for innovative long-duration energy storage technologies that can support the integration of greater shares of variable renewable energy into weak power grids, replace diesel generators, and provide seasonal balancing.

Energy & Environment Energy Transitions

New Atlanticist

Feb 2, 2021

Three possible futures for the Biden presidency

By Mathew Burrows, Robert A. Manning

Biden’s successes or failures will be determined by how the paradoxes of his presidency play out. The president is pursuing an extraordinarily ambitious social, economic, and foreign-policy agenda amid an exceptionally dire pandemic and recession—and with a razor-thin congressional majority, no less. He hopes to restore comity and bipartisan compromise to Congress, but his legislative skills will be tested by an obstinate Republican Party and worsening political tribalism.

Crisis Management Elections
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